1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved golf glove which provides convenient, compact, and readily-accessible storage for golf tees and a ball marker. More particularly, it is concerned with a golf glove having a hand-receiving glove portion, a tee holder of elastic or any other suitable material, and a retainer into which a ball marker may be easily inserted and removed using one hand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf is a popular sport enjoyed around the world by millions of people of all ages. Players use clubs to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of the nine or eighteen successive holes on a course. Players commonly wear spiked shoes to avoid damaging the greens and to maintain stance, as well as a golf glove on one hand to facilitate gripping the club. The game is normally played by groups of one to four golfers, who commence play towards each of the holes by driving the ball from a tee. Since golf courses schedule tee off times closely, to permit as many groups as possible to play in a day, it is desirable to play as expeditiously as possible.
Golfers have long been faced with the difficulties of transporting tees and ball markers around the links and keeping them conveniently at hand while leaving their hands free to play the game.
Although the golf bag generally used to transport the clubs includes pockets in which a supply of tees and markers may be stored and transported, such pockets are not well suited for providing easy access to small items. Even if a player were willing to walk to the bag and rummage through the pockets to obtain a tee, the process might have to be repeated if the tee were damaged while driving the ball, as it is sometimes necessary for a player to use more than one ball at a tee. In such cases repeated rummaging through the bag for additional tees would be required, thus slowing the game. While a golfer could retrieve several tees from the bag before teeing up, a storage problem would arise at the tee, since the hands must be kept free to grip the club during the drive.
Use of pockets in the golfer's clothing is similarly unsatisfactory. Items stored in the shirt pockets may fall out and be lost when the player bends to tee up or place a marker. Tees and markers are too sharp to be suitable for comfortable trouser pocket storage.
Previous devices have attempted to provide storage containers for tees, markers, and golf tools but do not provide a golf glove including accessible open holders for individual tees and markers of conventional construction which permit easy one-handed removal and replacement. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,993,613 issued to Frisbie and 4,736,877 issued to Clark require attachment to a player's golf bag or belt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,637 issued to Lonon describes a closed, relatively bulky utility container for attachment to a golf glove. U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,110 issued to Inoue describes a golf score indicator for attachment to a golf glove. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,639,947 and 4,489,444 issued to Lanscioni and Graham respectively, disclose a golf glove having an apertured flap which may be opened for access to a ball marker. U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,917 discloses a golf glove having hook-and-loop material for holding a marker fitted with complementary material. Heretofore there has not been available a golf glove having a holder for tees and a ball marker with the advantages of the present invention.